Page 54

“All right, here we go,” came Beckett’s voice.

Instinctively, I dropped my hand and straightened up, but Anthony saw us. His eyes fell on Grace’s cheek where I’d been touching her. Lais was smiling big, also looking between us. Beckett seemed blissfully unaware of anything as he handed me the Sazerac.

“You have one too,” I said, pointing to his drink.

“Couldn’t let you be the only one getting the end of Julian’s wrath. Besides, it’s not bad to check out the competition. See if he still has the best Sazerac in town.”

“Your brother owns the Lucky Bar?” Lais asked him, and Beckett nodded.

I was damn proud of our oldest brother. He’d been the one to perfect the Sazerac recipe. It was voted the best in town year after year.

“Cheers,” Lais said, and we all clinked classes. “What a nice surprise to run into you, Zachary. Of course, circumstances were unfortunate.”

“What about us?” Anthony asked her.

“We’re just collateral something,” Beckett informed him.

Lais laughed. “Of course I’m glad to meet you too. But I’ve heard so much about Zachary from Grace that I was dying to meet him.”

Silence reigned between us for a few seconds. Both of my brothers stared at me.

“Really? You’ve heard a lot about him, huh? So, what exactly did you hear? We’re curious,” Beckett asked her.

Lais seemed to realize she’d spoken out of turn because she cleared her throat, looking at Grace, deferring to her.

“Lais is up-to-date with the fact that we’re both interested in the horse ranch,” Grace explained.

Even though Beckett had the good sense to stay quiet, I knew what he was thinking: that was definitely nothearing a lot. It was just the bare minimum. But thankfully he didn’t press.

“Right,” Anthony said, chugging down his bourbon. We had something of an obsession with the liquor in the family. Probably because we’d grown up watching our granddads, David and Felix, down one in the evening as they chatted about business. Bourbon always seemed very sophisticated.

“So, Lais, what do you do?” Beckett asked.

“Oh, I’m an accountant. I know it sounds boring, but I promiseI’mnot boring. So, what do you guys do?” she asked, pointing first to Beckett and then Anthony. “I know Zachary here is running the shipping side of the family business. And you two?”

“I’m in charge of all the bakeries,” Beckett said.

Anthony cleared his throat. “And I run everything else that doesn’t fit into a category, which I thoroughly enjoy. There’s a bit of everything. Mostly, I’m focusing on music venues, though.”

“Like jazz bars?”

“No, it’s bigger than that. Some are speakeasy places—very similar to bars but focusing on music. Others are actual music venues where people go to concerts and things like that, mostly in arenas.”

“That’s impressive. So, I have a proposition,” Lais said before she downed her drink. My brothers had done the same too. Damn, they were quick. “Why don’t you two and I go to the Lucky Bar to grab one of those Sazeracs? This one’s shit.”

I laughed, taking a sip of my own.

“I wouldn’t say it’s shit,” I said, “but it’s nowhere near as good as Julian’s.”

“I’m sure Grace and Zachary have more details to discuss about the ranch,” Lais continued.

I knew Grace was blushing even without looking at her. When I did look, her cheeks were indeed tinted red.

Anthony cocked a brow. “What would they have to discuss?”

Beckett elbowed him. “Yeah, great idea. Let’s go. Neither of us can actually stay too late.”

“Don’t worry. I can always entertain myself or come find these two.” Lais winked at me. Clearly she didn’t think we’d linger here at all. “Now, let’s go. I haven’t had your brother’s Sazerac in a while.”